29 November 2020
13:55 | 
Posted by
LesleyB |
Let us wait together for the Arrival
(Latin =’Adventus’) of our King on Christmas Day, Praying for God’s Grace and
remembering those who, at this time of anticipation of Joy, have so much less
than ourselves.
The tradition of having an Advent Wreath
comes from Germany, but is now common in all branches of the Western Christian
Church. There are three Dark Blue
Candles and one Pink candle. The Dark Blue colour is the Liturgical Colour of
Advent, purple has been used because it was an expensive dye in ancient times
only used by Kings and Emperors and so it reminds us that we are waiting for
the coming of the King at Christmas. At St Marys we are using a dark blue for
Advent, and now keep Purple for Lent. The pink candle is lit on the 3rd
Sunday in Advent known as Gaudate Sunday from the psalm Rejoice in the Lord
used on that day.
The symbolism of the Wreath
The wreath is a circle of evergreen
foliage symbolising everlasting life. It can be made of all types of evergreen
leaves including furs, laurel, yew, holly and even camellia or magnolia leaves.
In advent it should have minimum other decorations, but of course you can add
Christmas decorations on Christmas Eve if you want to!
The symbolism of the Candles
There are a number of traditions about
this, but the best known one is probably as follows
1.
The first dark blue
candle is for God’s People a symbol of Hope
2.
The second dark blue
candle Is for the Old Testament Prophets, the candle of Peace
3.
The third Candle, the
pink one is for John the Baptist the candle of Love
4.
The last dark blue
candle is for Mary the Mother of Christ the candle of Joy
The White Candle
On Christmas Eve you can add in the
center of your Wreath, a White Candle to signify the Light coming into the
world with the birth of Jesus.
Making an Advent wreath
You will need a circle of Oasis
in a plastic base. This has to be pre soaked in water, you can wrap the oasis in
Cling film to help retain water but this is not essential if you can water the
oasis regularly.
You also need 4 candle spikes and your candles.
Place the candle spikes evenly round the Oasis. Then select the
evergreen material you want to put in your wreath from the pile on the table.
Stick the twig ends into the oasis to form a complete covering. You can add
other things such as pine cones, ribbons (dark blue for advent but change to green red or gold at
Christmas) berries (care with small children!) etc, but it should be fairly
plain, to reflect the somberness of Advent.
Taking Care of your Advent Wreath
To make the wreath last the 4 weeks of
Advent, you will need to water it regularly. Put it on your sink drainer and
pour a jug of water over it at least once a week.
Put the wreath on a tray before putting
it on furniture to avoid watermarks.
Remember all the greenery is capable of
catching fire, so NEVER leave the lit candles unattended and have a Jug of
water nearby at all times in case of an accident. You can buy fire retardant
spray at some Florists to spray your wreath with.
Do not let children light the candles
without the assistance of an Adult.
When should I light my Advent Wreath
Candles?
Light one today, next Sunday light 2 and
so on until Christmas. It is a nice moment, perhaps on Sunday evening to gather
as a family and light the candle and say a short prayer together. Do not burn
the candles for too long or the first one will be gone before the end of
Advent!! If possible snuff the candles rather than blowing them out to avoid
blowing hot wax all over the wreath and your dining room table!!!
Some pictures of our wreath making afternoons pre Covid!
.
‘THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK’ FROM THE REVEREND STEPHEN GUISE, PRIEST IN CHARGE – FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT
Dear Friends
‘O that you would tear open the heavens and come down!’
In this passage from Isaiah 64 the prophet is heard imploring the Lord to make himself known on earth – to put things right – and it probably resonates with the prayers of many of us especially during challenging times such as those we have all being living through lately. We feel, perhaps, that the ‘world is going mad’, and we ourselves are all at ‘sixes and sevens’, our usual equilibrium knocked off balance by factors beyond our control. We long for God to answer our prayers in a dramatic way, and to come to rescue us from the situation in which we find ourselves.
It is usual during Advent for the lectionary readings from the Hebrew Scriptures to be chosen from the book of the prophet Isaiah, not only because the writer so graphically and memorably expresses this longing, but also because, of all the prophets, he most clearly points to God’s answer – that is, to the coming of the Messiah, in judgement, but also in mercy and humility. Here at St Mary’s, where we usually have only one reading prior to the Gospel, we follow this tradition, and ensure that these readings are used in preference to the New Testament epistle (the reading given for this Sunday is Isaiah 2:1-5).
The first Sundays of Advent tend to focus on the need for repentance for human sin and folly – as Isaiah puts it a little farther on from the text quoted above, ‘Yes, you have been angry, and we have been sinners . . . and yet, you are our Father; we the clay and you our potter, all of us are the work of your hand.’ It is only on the last Sunday of Advent, when we reflect on the role of Mary as Mother of Our Lord, that we begin to concentrate more on God’s coming in great humility among us as the babe of Bethlehem.
And, of course, this year, as we reflect on these Advent themes, we shall be especially looking forward to the great feast of Christmas when, we hope, we shall be able once more, however briefly, to join with family, friends and loved ones in our permitted ‘bubbles’ and to give thanks with joy together that God has already ‘torn open the heavens and come down’ to us in his beloved Son, Jesus Christ.
Fr Stephen
Collect for the First Sunday of Advent
Almighty God,
give us grace to cast away the works of darkness
and to put on the armour of light,
now in the time of this mortal life,
in which your Son Jesus Christ came to us in great humility;
that on the last day,
when he shall come again in his glorious majesty
to judge the living and the dead,
we may rise to the life immortal;
through him who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
1 Corinthians 1:3-9
A reading from the first letter of Paul to the Corinthians.
My brothers and sisters:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I give thanks to my God always for you
because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus,
for in every way you have been enriched in him,
in speech and knowledge of every kind—
just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you—
so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift
as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ.
He will also strengthen you to the end,
so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God is faithful;
by him you were called
into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Mark 13.24-37
A reading fromt he gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark.
Jesus said to his disciples:
But in those days, after that suffering,
the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light,
and the stars will be falling from heaven,
and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
Then they will see "the Son of Man coming in clouds'
with great power and glory.
Then he will send out the angels,
and gather his elect from the four winds,
from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.
"From the fig tree learn its lesson:
as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves,
you know that summer is near.
So also, when you see these things taking place,
you know that he is near, at the very gates.
Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away
until all these things have taken place.
Heaven and earth will pass away,
but my words will not pass away.
"But about that day or hour no one knows,
neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son,
but only the Father.
Beware, keep alert;
for you do not know when the time will come.
It is like a man going on a journey,
when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge,
each with his work,
and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch.
Therefore, keep awake—
for you do not know when the master of the house will come,
in the evening, or at midnight,
or at cockcrow, or at dawn,
or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly.
And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake."
22 November 2020
‘THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK’ FROM THE REVEREND STEPHEN GUISE, PRIEST IN CHARGE – SUNDAY NEXT BEFORE ADVENT: FEAST OF CHRIST THE KING
Christ Pantocrator, detail from Deesis mosaic,
12th century, Hagia Sophia, Istanbul
Dear Friends
The Feast of Christ the King emerged in the 1920s as a Christian response to the secularizing influence, first and foremost of the Communists in Russia, and to the parallel emergence of the Fascist dictators, Mussolini in Italy, Franco in Spain and ultimately Hitler in Germany. Their strutting, posturing and inflammatory speeches were given credibility, in the view of many, by the swingeing reparations demanded by the Versailles agreement, following the First World War. Germany was largely starved into submission and economic ruin at that time, and suffering from galloping inflation. So Hitler’s early land-grabs, notably of the Czech Sudaten lands, were not immediately seized upon by the former Allies, who had had enough of war, although there was horror at the slaughter of civilians at Guernica during the Spanish Civil war.
It was during this time that the Pope promulged the Feast of Christ the King as an antidote to such totalitarianism, reaffirming Jesus Christ’s kingship over all – a Kingdom of peace, love and freedom, whose King rules from the Cross of Calvary, not by force of tanks, artillery and bombs. Many Anglican parishes adopted this feast during the 1970s and it grew in acceptance within the wider Church, becoming ‘officially’ accepted within Anglicanism at the beginning of this century with the publication of Common Worship Times and Seasons.
We, of course, have continued to benefit from the liberation from tyranny which was won, at such cost, by those who sacrificed their lives during the Second World War, but sabre-rattling between the big powers is never far away, which is why we, as Christians, must continue to pray for peace, and to ask Christ the Universal King to keep us steadfast in the ‘peace which passes understanding’.
Fr Stephen
Collect for Feast of Christ the King
Eternal Father,
whose Son Jesus Christ ascended to the throne of heaven
that he might rule over all things as Lord and King:
keep the Church in the unity of the Spirit
and in the bond of peace,
and bring the whole created order to worship at his feet;
who lives and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Ephesians 1:15-end
A reading from the letter of Paul to the Ephesians
I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus
and your love toward all the saints,
and for this reason
I do not cease to give thanks for you
as I remember you in my prayers.
I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,
may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation
as you come to know him,
so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened,
you may know what is the hope to which he has called you,
what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints,
and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power
for us who believe, according to the working of his great power.
God put this power to work in Christ
when he raised him from the dead
and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,
far above all rule and authority and power and dominion,
and above every name that is named,
not only in this age but also in the age to come.
And he has put all things under his feet
and has made him the head over all things for the church,
which is his body,
the fullness of him who fills all in all.
Matthew 25:31-end
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew.
Jesus said to his disciples:
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory,
and all the angels with him,
then he will sit on the throne of his glory.
All the nations will be gathered before him,
and he will separate people one from another
as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats,
and he will put the sheep at his right hand
and the goats at the left.
Then the king will say to those at his right hand,
"Come, you that are blessed by my Father,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you
from the foundation of the world;
for I was hungry and you gave me food,
I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink,
I was a stranger and you welcomed me,
I was naked and you gave me clothing,
I was sick and you took care of me,
I was in prison and you visited me.'
Then the righteous will answer him,
"Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food,
or thirsty and gave you something to drink?
And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you,
or naked and gave you clothing?
And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison
and visited you?'
And the king will answer them,
"Truly I tell you,
just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family,
you did it to me.'
Then he will say to those at his left hand,
"You that are accursed,
depart from me into the eternal fire
prepared for the devil and his angels;
for I was hungry and you gave me no food,
I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,
I was a stranger and you did not welcome me,
naked and you did not give me clothing,
sick and in prison and you did not visit me.'
Then they also will answer,
"Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty
or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison,
and did not take care of you?'
Then he will answer them,
"Truly I tell you,
just as you did not do it to one of the least of these,
you did not do it to me.'
And these will go away into eternal punishment,
but the righteous into eternal life."
15 November 2020
‘THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK’ FROM THE REVEREND STEPHEN GUISE, PRIEST IN CHARGE – SECOND SUNDAY BEFORE ADVENT
Dear Friends
The readings that we would have heard this Sunday during Mattins (Zephaniah 1:7, 12-end and Matthew 15:14-30) both focus upon the theme of imminent judgement. Zephaniah, a contemporary of the young Jeremiah, denounced the ethical and cultic sins which had derived from the reign of Manasseh (687-642BCE), when, as a vassal of the Assyrians, the king had permitted pagan cults, divination and magic to flourish, even within the Temple itself, and human sacrifice to be practised. Around 610BCE, however, Assyria’s dominance began to wane, and Judah became by default a free country, with a new young king, Josiah, who was keen to reinstate the Jewish Law and purify the Temple worship. But then the Babylonians began to threaten Judah, and Zephaniah was among those prophets who called Judah to further, and deeper, repentance, so that, in the ‘day of the Lord’, God could save a faithful remnant from judgement.
In the parable of the talents, Jesus tells the story of a rich man whose ‘advent’, or surprise return, also calls to judgement those servants whom he had entrusted with sums of money. The amounts involved were prodigious – one talent would sustain a person for fifteen years at subsistence level. To preserve what was entrusted to him, each servant had to take risks since maintaining the status quo was not adequate. Just as God has taken a risk with his creation, ultimately sending his Son to live in it as a human being, so courageous and faithful stewardship, and even an element of risk, are required of those to whom much has been entrusted.
As Rosalind Brown notes in her commentary on today’s readings (in Fresh from the Word, published by Canterbury Press, 2016), there is an urgency about both, which helps to prepare us for the theme of judgement, and the call to holiness, which resonate throughout Advent. Our God is coming with the joy of salvation, but also in judgement, especially for those who have been given much. The Collect for this Sunday (provided below) provides material for prayerful reflection – and also, perhaps, action.
Fr Stephen
Collect for Second Sunday before Advent
O God, whose blessed Son was manifested
that he might destroy the works of the devil
and make us the children of God and heirs of eternal life:
grant us, we beseech thee, that, having this hope,
we may purify ourselves, even as he is pure,
that when he shall appear again with power and great glory
we may be made like unto him in his eternal and glorious kingdom:
where with thee, O Father, and thee, O Holy Spirit,
he liveth and reigneth, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Zephaniah 1:7 and 12-end
A reading from the book of the prophet Zephaniah
Be silent before the Lord God!
For the day of the Lord is at hand;
the Lord has prepared a sacrifice,
he has consecrated his guests.
At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
and I will punish the people who rest complacently on their dregs,
those who say in their hearts,
"The Lord will not do good,
nor will he do harm."
Their wealth shall be plundered,
and their houses laid waste.
Though they build houses,
they shall not inhabit them;
though they plant vineyards,
they shall not drink wine from them.
The great day of the Lord is near,
near and hastening fast;
the sound of the day of the Lord is bitter,
the warrior cries aloud there.
That day will be a day of wrath,
a day of distress and anguish,
a day of ruin and devastation,
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and thick darkness,
a day of trumpet blast
and battle cry against the fortified cities
and against the lofty battlements.
I will bring such distress upon people
that they shall walk like the blind;
because they have sinned against the Lord,
their blood shall be poured out like dust,
and their flesh like dung.
Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them
on the day of the Lord's wrath;
in the fire of his passion the whole earth shall be consumed;
for a full, a terrible end he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.
Matthew 25:14-30
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mathhew.
Jesus said to his disciples:
The kingdom of heaven is as if a man, going on a journey,
summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them;
to one he gave five talents,
to another two,
to another one,
to each according to his ability.
Then he went away.
The one who had received the five talents
went off at once and traded with them,
and made five more talents.
In the same way,
the one who had the two talents made two more talents.
But the one who had received the one talent
went off and dug a hole in the ground
and hid his master's money.
After a long time the master of those slaves came
and settled accounts with them.
Then the one who had received the five talents came forward,
bringing five more talents, saying,
"Master, you handed over to me five talents;
see, I have made five more talents.'
His master said to him,
"Well done, good and trustworthy slave;
you have been trustworthy in a few things,
I will put you in charge of many things;
enter into the joy of your master.'
And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying,
"Master, you handed over to me two talents;
see, I have made two more talents.'
His master said to him,
"Well done, good and trustworthy slave;
you have been trustworthy in a few things,
I will put you in charge of many things;
enter into the joy of your master.'
Then the one who had received the one talent
also came forward, saying,
"Master, I knew that you were a harsh man,
reaping where you did not sow,
and gathering where you did not scatter seed;
so I was afraid,
and I went and hid your talent in the ground.
Here you have what is yours.'
But his master replied,
"You wicked and lazy slave!
You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow,
and gather where I did not scatter?
Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers,
and on my return
I would have received what was my own with interest.
So take the talent from him,
and give it to the one with the ten talents.
For to all those who have,
more will be given, and they will have an abundance;
but from those who have nothing,
even what they have will be taken away.
As for this worthless slave,
throw him into the outer darkness,
where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
11 November 2020
Lesley Bromley has been working on a project to find the stories about the people listed on the Sidlesham war memorial who died in World War II. The results of her project can now be seen on the websites 'Our History Page'.
09 November 2020
Although St Mary's has no formal remembrance services this year due to government restrictions. The children from Sunday school have been commemorating in their own way.
On Sunday afternoon (8 November 2020), the children from 2 families who are in the same school and Sunday School bubbles laid the wreath for St Mary’s Choir (Junior Chorister, Maggie Turner) and Harry, Charlie and Jack Lawson together with Bertie and Dorothy Turner laid the wreaths for Sidlesham C.P.School and for St Mary’s Sunday School.
Home made poppies?
08 November 2020
‘THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK’ FROM THE REVEREND STEPHEN GUISE, PRIEST IN CHARGE – THIRD SUNDAY BEFORE ADVENT – REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY
Paul-Alexandre Protais (1826-1888), ‘The Morning before the Attack’,
The Condé Museum, Chateau de Chantilly*
Dear Friends
Although not set for today, the reading from the second book of Maccabees (2 Maccabees 12:32-45) has echoes of Remembrance, particularly in the second half. The passage describes how Judas Maccabaeus and his army had just fought an engagement in one of the many battles for Jewish independence from Hellenistic forces and rule. He and his men were wondering why, although they had won the battle, so many of their comrades had died.
We have to understand the mindset of those days in order to interpret the passage correctly. There was a superstition that, if their cause was good and right, they should have been protected from such severe casualties. However, the reason is revealed – under their tunics many of the soldiers had been carrying idols, looted during the aftermath of a previous battle. Instead of bringing them luck, as they hoped, the reverse had happened. The Jewish law forbade the carrying of such items and this, it was assumed, was the reason why the men had perished. To make amends, Judas took up a collection and sent it to Jerusalem as an expiation for the ‘sins’ of the fallen, and the passage notes that this action, which is described as ‘altogether fine and noble’ was ‘prompted by his belief in the resurrection’. Judas, in other words, expected the dead to rise again and therefore it was neither superfluous nor foolish to pray for them so that they might be ‘released from their sin’ and gain the ‘splendid recompense reserved for those who make a pious end’.
We see in this passage from the inter-testamental period one of the first explicit references to the resurrection occurring within the Judaeo-Christian Scriptures. It was on the basis of this passage (and others, of course, from the New Testament) that the Catholic practice of praying for the dead, and of conducting requiem masses, developed. By 1928 it was proposed that the Church of England, too, should conduct up to three services of Holy Communion for the war dead on each All Souls’ day, as a response to the terrible carnage of the Western Front, which had resulted in so many families being unable to bury their loved ones, who were ‘missing, presumed dead’.
The passage from the Gospel of John contains the famous statement which is usually read on Remembrance Sunday: ‘No one can have greater love than to lay down his life for his friends’. Within the context of the day, this is taken particularly to refer to the sacrifice of the fallen for their friends and fellows, but it should, of course, also be understood as referring to Jesus’ supreme and saving sacrifice for the whole of humankind, both living and departed.
Fr Stephen
Collect for the Third Sunday before Advent (Remembrance Sunday)
Almighty Father, whose will it is to restore
all things in your beloved Son, the King of all:
govern the hearts and minds of those in authority,
and bring the families of the nations,
divided and torn apart by the ravages of sin,
to be subject to his just and gentle rule,
who is alive and reigns with you in the unity
of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-end
A reading from the first letter of Paul to the Thessalonians.
We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters,
about those who have died,
so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.
For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again,
even so, through Jesus,
God will bring with him those who have diesd.
For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord,
that we who are alive,
who are left until the coming of the Lord,
will by no means precede those who have died.
For the Lord himself, with a cry of command,
with the archangel's call and with the sound of God's trumpet,
will descend from heaven,
and the dead in Christ will rise first.
Then we who are alive, who are left,
will be caught up in the clouds
together with them to meet the Lord in the air;
and so we will be with the Lord forever.
Therefore encourage one another with these words.
Matthew 25:1-13
Hear the gospel of our Lord according to Matthew.
Jesus spoke this parable to his disciples:
"The kingdom of heaven will be like this.
Ten bridesmaids took their lamps
and went to meet the bridegroom.
Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.
When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them;
but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.
As the bridegroom was delayed,
all of them became drowsy and slept.
But at midnight there was a shout,
"Look! Here is the bridegroom!
Come out to meet him.'
Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps.
The foolish said to the wise,
"Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.'
But the wise replied,
"No! there will not be enough for you and for us;
you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.'
And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came,
and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet;
and the door was shut.
Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying,
"Lord, lord, open to us.'
But he replied, "Truly I tell you, I do not know you.'
Keep awake therefore,
for you know neither the day nor the hour.
Unfortunately due to the current lock down, there will be no service at the War Memorial this year.
John 15: 12-14
"This is my commandment,
that you love one another as I have loved you.
No one has greater love than this,
to lay down one's life for one's friends.
You are my friends if you do what I command you.
07 November 2020
In these times of Covid 19 many of St Mary's regular givers have not been attending church, either because they are shielding or due to government restrictions. Events such as the Summer Fete and Christmas Fete have been cancelled. Unfortunately although these sources of funding have been severely curtailed our costs are still the same.
One solution that you may wish to consider, if you are not part of it already, is the Parish Giving Scheme(PGS) that St Mary's is affiliated to. Using PGS means that the church gets your contribution whether you attend or not.
The PGS organisation reports that they have experienced a significant level of growth over the summer, despite the enormous challenges under which parishes and Dioceses are currently operating.
In August, it reached a milestone of 3,000 churches/parishes actively receiving funds through PGS. In September, they processed just over 52,000 regular gifts, with a total value of £4,874m (including Gift Aid) remitted to parishes – an increase of 8% since March 2020.
If you wish to consider contributing by using PGS please contact one of the church wardens who can give you more information and provide the application forms. Thankyou.
01 November 2020
This morning we had our Family Communion at 10 am and as it was All Saints Day we had an excellent presentaton from Mrs Field about one of the lesser known saints Saint Fiacre. He is the patron saint of gardeners, florists and taxi drivers! Originally from 7th century Ireland, where he was brought up in a monastery where he later became a monk, he planted and tended a beautiful garden, He moved to France and again planted a herb and vegetable garden he gave away the produce, and founded a hospice for travellers. he was also a famous healer. He is associated with taxi drivers and in the 17th century they drove special carriages called fiacre after the saint. Our music reflected the day, we sang 2 hymns, 'Oh happy band of pilgrims' and 'For all thy Saints' In addition we used the setting for the service by Darke, and sang a motet 'Let us now Praise Famous Men' setting by Ralph Vaughn Williams, and during Communion Ave Verum setting by William Byrd.
At 6pm we had a requiem service, a said communion service for All Souls Day. A list of the names of the departed was placed on the altar during this service. It is at this service that we would normally sing the Faure Requiem, but this was not possible under current covid restrictions. This was our final service for the immediate future.
 |
| The Sunday School have been working at home here is their work on saints |
Matthew 5:1-12
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew.
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain;
and after he sat down, his disciples came to him.
Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:
"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
"Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
"Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
"Blessed are the merciful,
for they will receive mercy.
"Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
"Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
"Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you
and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
Rejoice and be glad,
for your reward is great in heaven,
for in the same way they persecuted the prophets
who were before you.
Collect
Almighty God,
you have knit together your elect
in one communion and fellowship
in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord:
grant us grace so as to follow tour blessed saints
in all virtuous and godly living
that we may coe to those inexpresible joys
that you have prepared for those who truely love you;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Amen.
Unfortunately this will be the last communion service until December as the advice currently stands. The church will be open from 9am to 5pm approximately to allow personal prayer, but there will be no more formal services after the Requiem this evening.
God bless you all and keep you safe in our time of trouble.
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